The latest news on alcohol's health benefits? According to Dutch researchers, those who drink were found to have a significantly reduced risk of developing several arthritic conditions including Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Osteoarthritis (OA), reactive arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and spondylarthropathy.

Researchers aren't exactly certain why alcohol consumption (note, no guidelines were given as to which type of alcohol and how much, but we can safely assume that the scientists are talking about moderate drinking here), but they speculate that alcohol may have inflammation-reducing effects.

Arthritis isn't just a disease of the elderly, either. I have a friend who was diagnosed with a type of arthritis in her twenties, and ever since, I've been interested in learning as much as I can about this debilitating and frightening condition.